Job Discussion Forums

[Nomad2009]

I'm wondering what the costs of living are in Ho Chi Minh City.

I have Googled this already but I can't seem to find an up-to-date guide and after reading the boards regarding inflation, I thought this was my best option.

What are the current prices for:

Entertainment
Beer (bar, supermarket)
Cinema
Cable TV

Food
Meat (butcher, supermarket)
Cheap Meal

Clothing
Tailor Made Shirt
Suit
Jeans
Shorts (casual)
T-Shirt

MONTHLY Household and Bills
1 Bedroom Apartment - FURNISHED (any District close to centre)
Electricity
Mobile Phone Bill
Maid - Washing, Ironing and Cleaning 2 days/Week

Any input would be great

[Nomad2009]

Come on all you VN experts. Let's get some action here. I think this post would be a good reference point for the whole forum.

[grumbles]

I would be really interested in knowing this as well, I've heard conflicting stories about how its really cheap to live well VS its pretty much 'western' prices everywhere and you cant live comfortably on an english teachers wage there.

[Texas_blu]

Well, you CAN live on as little as 500USD per month. You'd have to be adventure driven to enjoy that.

And a lot depends on where you want to go. In Saigon, 1000USD per month is pretty comfortable but not heavily social.

Hope that helps.

[saigon cowboy]

The cost of living in HCMC is cheap except for rent. I got lucky after my fourth move and found a place in district 3 for 3,500,000 VND a month. I still must pay electric and water however. That makes it about just under 4 million a month.

I live with my vietnamese girlfriend and she negotiated the deal without the landlordlord knowing i'm a foreigner. That's the key. When you have a viet g/f life gets much less complicated and less expensive.

Oh, yes i give her a million dong a week for spending money but she also saves me that much too. She knows the good places to eat that charge half the price of Pham Ngu Lao.
And my room looks like a luxury hotel room with a large bed, dining area, wifi, cable tv, balcony, and washing machine installed in my bathroom.

I also have a bookshelf and large desk and safe motorbike parking.

For those of you snickering and saying " OMG he pays his g/f 4 million VND a month ? "
Yeah....she's worth every penny. Hot, lovable, and my best friend in this country.

[inky]

So based on your situation, people without a Vietnamese girlfriend can expect to pay about 8 million for a nice place all to themselves.

[kh1311]

You wrote:

When you have a viet g/f life gets much less complicated and less expensive.

I suspect that life may get less expensive, but I doubt that having a Vietnamese girlfriend makes your life less complicated.

[Boxcar Johnny]

[saigon cowboy]

There is no perfect place to live and there will always be something you want to change. You might find a great room but no wifi. Or you park your motorbike at a pay lot because there's no place for it where you live.

Some teachers don't want AC. or don't drive a motorbike and need to be close to the school.

I knew this one teacher who thought he had found the perfect room until to his horror he discovered that there was a karaoke bar behind his room that opened at 7pm.

[indigorawa]

Night life is expensive, of course, relative to where you are from, but expensive non-the-less.

It's easy to drop 100 bucks when going out. More if you really like to party. You can also sit on street corners and drink beer all night for about 15 bucks...gets old quick, however.

Everything seems cheap at first, but if you are working here as a teacher, then you may earn about 100 bucks a day, more or less depending upon the school.

[saigon cowboy]

I usually buy some vietnamese banana wine and bring it to the cafe and order a tea or coke, it mixes with everything. Cost is 7 to 10 thousand VND depending on what store you purchase from.

The wine is called CHUOI HOT and it's 29% proof. One bottle lasts all evening. I pay for a viet tea 2000 vnd, a Chuoi Hot 7000 vnd. for a 500 ml. bottle.

You can drink all evening for two dollars. If you order the bottled soft drinks then of course the price goes up.

The cafes don't care if you bring your own as long as you buy something.

Cheers

[inky]

Did you two come here to teach or to get drunk?

[paradox3696]

[saigon cowboy]

[quote="inky"]Did you two come here to teach or to get drunk?[/quote]

Uhhh....inky, i think we all came here for teaching and entertainment.

I mean this city is a sweltering hot humid human jungle, and drinking is most definately on my menu.

Sheesh.....

[adw]

Are there a lot of condomium like apartments 's like in Thailand, which you can rent per month ? If so, how much per month ?